A Healer's Heart, A Warrior's Strength
by The Knight of Thirteen
Summary: The Shinigami were attacked by the legions of Hell, and one of their mightiest warriors fell. His killer now must face the wrath of a healer with courage and passion to match even the Kenpachi.


_**Author's Note - I had not written a good fight in a long time, and i watched The Last Samurai again this evening, so i wrote this. It did not turn out as well as i hoped, so i may rewrite it when i have more time.**_

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 ** _A Healer's Heart, A Warrior's Strength_**

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She was shaking. For a moment, it was all she could comprehend. It felt like her very body were trying to tear itself apart. She finally forced herself to resume breathing. Slowly and painfully, she wrestled control of her body back from her fear. From the all-consuming terror that had ensnared her.

Alone and afraid. Only her and the enemy. And that enemy was so much stronger than she was...

Her spiritual pressure was sealed so tightly that using kidou was out of the question. She would have only burned herself alive from the inside out. She drew her sword, but she could not release it. It was little more than sharpened steel, and it would do her no good. But it was all she had.

The enemy stood like a beacon of fire. A Demon from Hell itself. It towered over her by a foot and a half, its arms and legs thick as small trees. Its sword stood as tall as she did, and likely weighed just as much, too.

 _Breath, Isane! Think!_ She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart. _This is... This is the end. You will die here, today. Just... Die well. Die fighting. Just like Ikkaku._

She held back her tears and took a defensive stance. She could almost feel his hands guiding her into the proper position as he had so many times. She smiled to herself and raised her sword, then finally met the eyes of her enemy.

"Little healer, will you not run away?" The Demon grinned down at her. "I have devoured far stronger Shinigami than you, little healer. You will not defeat me."

"I won't outrun you either. I may be a healer... But my heart belonged to a warrior. Maybe... Maybe if I die fighting, I will find him again in my next life." Isane took one long breath and relaxed for an instant before springing forward like a cat.

 _I wonder what Ikkaku would think of me now? Would he consider me... Strong?_

The first blow felt like the weight of the world crashing down upon her. She remembered all the times Ikkaku had sparred with her, how the first time she had been knocked to the ground under the strength of his attack. _Keep your knees bent, Isane. Take the blow in your legs, then push back._

She felt her knees brush the dirt for a heartbeat before she surged back up, shoving the monster back and darting forward, racking her sword across its shins before rolling back and resuming her defensive stance.

"You drew blood! What a treat you are! You may bare the mark of the Fourth, but I can see the heart of the Eleventh inside you! I can not wait to eat it!" The Demon roared and directed a horizontal blow at her.

 _You have to think about your strength and your position and how best to take a blow. Sometimes you have the entire earth on your side, but when it is only your weight, it is better to redirect._ She smiled and dropped her sword at the last instant, leaning back and letting the heavier blade glide past her ribs by an inch.

She dashed forward again, but the Demon redirected his attack faster than she could ever have imagined. Her eyes widened as the blade drew closer.

 _Sometimes you can't make a good move, you just have to make an okay move._ She let her legs go limp and barely collapsed in time as she felt the blade clip her braid as it passed over her head. She rolled to the side, then sprung to her feet, dashing in a diagonal line as she turned in case a blow was coming at her back. She was not disappointed.

The Demon laughed and straightened as they eyed each other.

"If only you had the strength to match that heart, I would fear for my life." He raised his sword again, and took a moment to plan his attack. Then he moved and they were clashing again.

 _Let go of the illusion of control. In a battle, there is no past or future. There is only the instant you are standing in. There is only the steel of your blade and that of your enemy. If you plan ahead, you will miss the instant, and you will die._

She used her speed to her advantage, and smiled as she felt a rush of adrenaline surge through her. She had never been the smaller one in a duel before. She danced beneath the Demon's arms, coming in too close for him to counter, then escaping before he could regroup. But her blade only left wounds skin deep. She would collapse from exhaustion long before it fell.

 _There are more than just physical openings in your enemy's defense. Yumi is a master of getting under his enemy's skin and it serves him well. And angry enemy gains strength but loses precision and control. And sometimes, that is all it takes to tip the balance in your favor._

"What's the matter? A big scary Demon can't even hit a little healer like me? And here I thought you would be scary!" She shouted with all the false confidence she could scrape together from her terrified body.

The Demon bared its teeth and took a vicious swing that she easily dodged.

"I grow tired of our little game. Hold still so I may devour you and move on to more suitable prey!"

 _When Zaraki got drunk, he'd always talk about his favorite fights. The best stories were always of a mysterious woman he met when he was just a kid. He said she was the greatest warrior he ever met, but far from the strongest. She knew how to use her resources to their fullest potential. When you fought her, every pebble, every blade of grass, and every passing bird could easily become your enemy as well._

She looked around the barren landscape. No trees. No sand. No animals. But... There was a small ledge where an eons old river had worn away a wide and shallow strip of stone. She backed up until the Demon stepped into the dry river bed, then darted forward to swing at him. As expected, he struck back. But unlike all his previous blows, rather than duck, she jumped.

The two inches difference let her clear the weapon's edge by a hair's width, then bring her own blade down in a heavy overhead swing. The tip of her blade raked down the Demon's face, and she smiled in satisfaction as it howled in real pain for the first time. When they faced each other again, it had one eye closed.

"I will crush you, you insolent little worm!" He turned toward her. She glanced at the ground, then took a quarter step forward as he moved to a ready stance, raising his blade for an attack. His toe fell a bit shy of the ledge. She took a stance to defend against an overhead strike, knowing he would make a different move to try and get to her.

He began his swing, from the side as she predicted, and as he traced the arc with his back foot, it caught the ledge. It didn't trip him. He didn't even hesitate for more than a fraction of a second. But in that moment, she struck.

 _People do weird things when their attention is divided. Anyone can react to one thing at a time. Our bodies remember what to do so we don't even have to think. But to gain that speed, they sacrifice the ability to multitask. When they try to react to two or more things at once, it gets confused, and it makes mistakes it wouldn't normally make. That's what makes distractions so dangerous and so useful._

She went for the neck. It was an obvious move that he had blocked and dodged easily every time before. But as his body corrected for the ledge, his arm dropped instead of rising, and her blade bit deep.

 _The tide of battle can change in a second. Once it changes, you have to decide immediately whether to push the advantage or to let it go before it changes again._

She fell back and repositioned her feet and hands, using the moment to breath and size up her enemy.

 _The only mistake worse than not focusing on the moment is to focus too much. Take the appropriate chances to look at the big picture. Just because you struck the arm doesn't mean that is where the opening will be._

The wound to his face and to his neck were having an effect now, but not as she expected. His stance had readjusted to guard his stomach rather than his face. She narrowed her eyes.

 _Don't always take the advantage the moment it is offered to you. Sometimes it grows if you wait._

She fainted forward as if she were going to stab at his stomach, then ran to his side. She circled to the side with his blinded eyes. He turned to match her, and swung a back handed blow to chase her. She knew it was a weak strike, and blocked it, feeling it slide her across the ground.

 _And opening is a double edged sword. It gives them a place to strike, but you also know where they will strike. Use your own weaknesses as strengths and you'll always win._

She knew he could not see her, and she knew the blow should have done more damage. She he turned to face her, she let her sword arm swing uselessly at her side and gripped her blade in her weak arm. The Demon grinned and swung for her side. She rolled out of the way, not letting on that her arm was uninjured until she was inside his guard.

 _The easiest path to the heart isn't the shortest path. Ribs are hard, the stomach is soft. For tough enemies, drop low and strike upward beneath the ribs. The lungs, the heart, all the important stuff under the hood. You are bound to hit something._

Her blow pierced him easily and she twisted it before ripping it free and rolling out of reach.

The Demon fell to one knee, supporting himself with his sword.

 _Never give up your honor. Never strike an enemy in the back. Always give them the final courtesy. Never interfere in a duel._

She smiled and remembered the evenings she had spent learning the way of the warrior from Ikkaku. She had no idea what the final courtesy was when he first mentioned it. It always amazed her, the things that he was willing to sacrifice his life for in battle.

"My name is Isane Kotetsu, Lieutenant of the Fourth Division. Lover of Kenpachi Ikkaku Madarame. The man you killed before he could even draw his blade to defend himself. Do you remember?"

"I remember... So that man was the Kenpachi? It seems he passed his spirit on to you in full." The Demon's grip on his sword slipped and he fell to his elbows, head bowed. "I am honored to die at the hands of such a mighty warrior."

"I am just a little healer." She took a shaking breath and let the tears come. "It was Ikkaku who was supposed to die in battle... Why did you steal that from him?"

"He was one of the targets that we were to kill immediately. He was feared by our leader." The Demon drew one last ragged breath. "We should have feared what his death would bring."

Isane watched the creature collapse onto the stone and finally let herself sob and collapse to her knees. She looked down at the wound in her chest and grimaced. The Demon's blade had gone straight through Ikkaku and into her. She felt her riatsu flood out with the seal broken and she flash stepped to Ikkaku's body.

"Oh Ikkaku... Why did you have to die? Why weren't you avenging me, instead of the other way around?" She smiled and pulled the bandage from her chest, letting the blood pour over her fingers. "You better have a good explanation... I'm coming to get it right now."

She closed her eyes and curled against him. She was long dead by the time her captain arrived.

In another world, Isane's eyes cracked open and she smiled up at the bald warrior.

"Thank you... For making me strong."


End file.
